Give My Head Peace

Had you asked me in 1998 would this show been still running in 2006 I would have said definitely not. I would have said that the critic's constant criticism of the script and the acting would have been enough for Damon Quinn, Tim McGarry and Michael McDowell to fold their tents. But to my surprise the three writers who make up half of the Hole in the wall gang are still going strong.

Set in Belfast it documents the lives of two northern Irish families each representing the loyalist and republican sides. The republican family consists of Sinn Fein members Da & Cal, the long-suffering Ma and voluptuous daughters Dymphna & Emer. The loyalist side is made up of the P.S.N.I Officer (formerly R.U.C) Billy and his loyalist mad uncle called Andy. One day the police raid the republican household and Protestant policeman Billy falls in love with Roman Catholic Emer and they marry. This sets the scene for one of Northern Irelands most dysfunctional mixed marriages ever.

I will first point out that I do not go out of my way to watch this show but when I do sit down and watch I find it quite enjoyable and at times very funny. But I also find certain areas of this show very tedious which has lead to me developing a love hate relationship with the show. The loyalist characters like Uncle Andy, Big Mervyn and Red Hand Luke make me laugh till my sides are sore, simply because there is extra thought incorporated into all their characterizations. From how they speak right down to what they wear and how they walk has me stitches. The walk in particular is my favorite. It is a combination of a strut and a march. This is the side of the show I like and it is always a delight too watch. This is because they rarely need to name check politicians or continuously remind us that they are loyalists. When we see them we know outright where their political beliefs lie. But seldom do they ever play the political angle and their main comedy source is their ignorance to what is different. This invariably leads to them having better story lines and when they do get a great story line none of the actors involved of making the plot work.

The side I hate of the show manifests itself with the republican characters whose antics are just simply annoying. The scripts never change. The actors who play the characters, with the exception of Ma, are terrible and their characterizations when compared to their loyalist counterparts I consider to be very lazy. They constantly sell the nationalist/republican side and although I am catholic and from Ireland I find it really annoying because it is nothing we haven't heard or spoofed before. There is very little entertainment in it for me. Some would argue that the loyalist characters suffer from the same problems. Yes they are stereotypical but it is evident that they do it better.

Yes it is stereotypical and two dimensional but this show still has a large fan base throughout Ireland. It's inoffensive and full of daft story lines to keep the fans entertained. The critics hate it but the public can't get enough. I personally won't be making a note in my TV diary to watch it, but if push come to shove and there is nothing else on I could do a lot worse. 4 out of 10

On paper this looks it could be good. It's not.

I have never met anyone from Northern Ireland that finds this show even remotely funny, the jokes are poor the cast affect over the top accents and deliver lines like they are on cue cards with half a sentence per card.

The sectarian humour was stale and 20 years past its sell by date when it first released and it seems the writers still haven't figured that out.

It feels like they are trying to emulate the late great James Young, unfortunately no one in the cast has any charisma.

Honestly this show is an embarrassment to my home country, I would pay a small yearly subscription if it meant it was never shown anywhere ever again.

For those of you who are outside of Northern Ireland may not be familiar with this show that started off as a feature length comedy show called "Two Ceasefires and a Wedding". It is about a RUC officer who marries a Catholic woman whose father is just plain stupid. If you ever get to have a look at this show please watch this little gem. I promise you that you won't be disappointed.

During a standard police raid on the headquarters of the Lower Falls Rd battalion of Sinn Fein/IRA a young RUC officer falls in love with the daughter of the leader of the battalion. However he lives with the leader of the local UDA who hangs out at the local pub, The Knee Breaker. The pair marries when a ceasefire is declared but old habits die hard for both families.

Given that I have spent my last few years in England as opposed to Northern Ireland I had never seen this series until I returned to Antrim recently for some leave. I had heard of the hole in the wall gang and knew the sort of humour to expect. I saw the pilot and a handful of other episodes, including the 50th episode. The humour is basically mocking all the groups within Northern Ireland by having each represented roughly by a character in the show. It is the sort of self-mocking humour that Northern Ireland is very good at (gallows humour) and those in the UK may be most familiar with it through Patrick Keilty. However the plots aren't always given as much work as they may need and the end result is that it can be a bit hit and miss at times.

However it is still funny even if it's all a bit chaotic. Other reviewers have wondered why this hasn't made it to the mainland yet, but watching it I can see why. The jokes and the humour are too locally based. UK viewers may get the more general jokes but the majority of it requires a basic knowledge of what's what in Northern Ireland. In the UK (and living there, I know this) the vast majority of people believe that there is no crime in Northern Ireland and that the IRA has disarmed! They think this because England hasn't been seriously bombed for a while and the ongoing troubles are given no real coverage in the press (unless you search for it). Also the series has quite low production values (even 50 shows on) and wouldn't match the higher quality (in looks) sitcoms on the BBC. However I do think they might have at least given it a shot!

The cast are OK but like one character says in the pilot `I'm a one-dimensional stereotypical loyalist caricature'. The characters aren't characters so much as just stereotypes that make fun of themselves and their situations – thus mocking the wider situation. The cast do well but I did feel the standard was higher in the pilot than it is now.

Overall this hits and misses but it is still worth a look and definitely most people who live in Northern Ireland will find something to laugh at in it. UK viewers may never get the chance to see it unless they take a holiday (and not many go to Belfast for a summer break!) but I suspect that it is a local thing rather than something that would have wider appeal.

give my head peace! is a brilliant programme full of home grown talent. the name for the show came from Olivia Nash(Ma) as its what she constantly says to her own family. this show always gets a laugh, even when it confronts serious issues(i mean, who cant laugh at Cal making an eejit of himself??). children love it too, doing impressions of Da, Uncle Andy and Gerry.

and it uses traditional "norn Irish" like "youse", "youse think i come up the Lagan in a bubble?" and "banjaxed". class! i would recommend this to anyone, unfortunately its only available on BBC1 NI on a Friday night......